This sweet and tangy rainbow chip frosting is the perfect way to add color to your favorite baked goods. Pipe or spread this vibrant frosting onto cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more!

An overhead view of a bowl of homemade rainbow chip frosting.

Rainbow chip frosting tastes like a tub of funfetti frosting ran into a tub of cream cheese frosting. It’s neither a true buttercream frosting, nor a cream cheese frosting. It’s a frosting unique from any other!

And those fun rainbow chips running throughout the frosting? They’re actually pieces of colored white chocolate — no sprinkles here!

This delicious frosting requires a little more time and effort than my buttercream frosting, but it’s a simple recipe that anyone can master. It’s perfect for birthday cakes, as a filling for sandwich cookies, piped onto cupcakes, and so much more!

An overhead view of the ingredients needed to make frosting with rainbow chips.

Ingredient Notes

  • White Chocolate: This is the main ingredient for the homemade rainbow chips. I recommend using actual bars of white chocolate rather than white chocolate chips. Bakers and Ghirardelli chocolate bars are two great options!
  • Food Coloring: You may use any colors you’d like to make the rainbow chips. To keep this as close as possible to the real thing, I opted to use red, yellow, green, and blue.
  • Butter: Use unsalted butter to prevent the frosting from being too salty.
  • Cream Cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese that’s sold in a brick. Whipped cream cheese sold in a tub will result in a runny frosting.
  • Powdered Sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
  • Heavy Cream: Just one tablespoon is needed to create a smooth and spreadable frosting. If you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute it with half and half or milk.
An overhead view of four bowls of colored melted white chocolate.
An overhead view of four rectangles of colored melted white chocolate on a baking sheet.

How To Make Rainbow Chip Frosting

  1. Melt and color the white chocolate: Add the chopped white chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and heat until smooth. Divide the melted chocolate between bowls and mix in the food coloring.
  2. Chill the colored white chocolate: On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spread each bowl of colored white chocolate into separate rectangles. Place the baking sheet in the freezer while you prepare the frosting.
An overhead view of beaten butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
An overhead view of white frosting in a mixing bowl, with a rubber spatula.
  1. Combine the butter and cream cheese: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Then, add the butter and beat to combine.
  2. Add the remaining frosting ingredients: To the butter mixture, add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add the vanilla, salt, and heavy cream last.
An overhead view of homemade rainbow chips on a cutting board.
An overhead view of rainbow chip frosting in a mixing bowl, with a rubber spatula.
  1. Create the rainbow chips: Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and chop the colored white chocolate into tiny pieces. If you plan to pipe this frosting, I recommend chopping them into small pieces so they don’t get stuck in your piping tip.
  2. Add the rainbow chips to the frosting: Gently fold the colored white chocolate pieces into the frosting.
An overhead view of a yellow cake topped with rainbow chip frosting.

Ways To Use The Frosting

If you have a favorite cake or cupcake recipe that traditionally calls for funfetti frosting, you can replace it with this rainbow chip version. Here are a few more desserts that would go well with it too:

A close-up, overhead view of homemade frosting with rainbow chips.

Recipe Tips

  • If you want to make this recipe a little easier, feel free to skip the homemade rainbow chips and use round, flat sprinkles (also known as quins) instead.
  • White chocolate is more prone to seizing up as it’s being melted. To avoid this, melt the white chocolate in the microwave at 50% power for 30-second intervals. Make sure to stir the chocolate gently between intervals before returning to the microwave too.
  • Feel free to change the color of the white chocolate pieces! You can make black and orange sprinkles for Halloween, red and blue for 4th of July, etc.
  • Make sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper. This will make it much easier to remove the white chocolate and chop it.
  • If you plan on piping this frosting, I recommend using a larger piping tip so the rainbow chip pieces easily fit through it. Two of my favorite ones to use with this recipe are the Wilton 1A and 8B piping tips.
  • This recipe will make about 2 ½ cups of frosting which is enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes or a 9×13 cake. For a two layer cake, I recommend increasing the recipe by half.
A white bowl filled with rainbow chip frosting.

Rainbow Chip Frosting

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Chilling Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Sweet and tangy rainbow chip frosting is the perfect way to inject color into your favorite baked goods. Pipe this vibrant frosting onto cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more!
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Ingredients

Servings: 12 servings
  • 4 ounces white chocolate roughly chopped (113 grams)
  • Food coloring I used red, yellow, green, and blue
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter softened (170 grams)
  • 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese softened (113 grams)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar (360 grams)
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream (15 ml)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Add the chopped white chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments at 50% power, stirring well after each increment, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
  • Divide the white chocolate between four small bowls (about 1 ounce; 28 grams per bowl). Add a small amount of food coloring to each bowl and stir each one until all of the food coloring is fully combined.
  • Spread each bowl of colored white chocolate into a separate rectangle onto the prepared baking sheet, using the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to help spread it out into a thin layer.
  • Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare the frosting.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and mix for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until well combined and smooth.
  • Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, making sure to mix in each addition until fully combined.
  • Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and mix until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Remove the baking sheet with the colored white chocolate from the freezer. Chop each rectangle into small pieces (the smaller you chop them the easier it will be to pipe!).
  • Add all of the chopped pieces of colored white chocolate to the bowl of frosting and gently fold it in.
  • Pipe or frost on cooled cupcakes, cakes, or other desserts.

Notes

Storage Instructions: Frosting may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Thaw to room temperature and mix well before using to frost cakes/cupcakes.
Freezing Instructions: Frosting will freeze well for 2 to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and mix well before using.
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Danielle Rye
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.

Adapted from my homemade cream cheese frosting and buttercream frosting recipe

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